Latinos viewed as most discriminated, Pew studies say

In light of the controversy surrounding Arizona SB 1070, signed into law last week by Gov. Jan Brewer, the Pew Research Center and the Pew Hispanic Center have re-released data providing insight on U.S. attitudes by and about Hispanics. Drawn mostly from nationwide surveys, the data was collected in 2008 and 2009.

Here are the two centers’ findings:

• “Americans see Hispanics as the racial/ethnic group most often subjected to discrimination.” In 2001, one in four of those surveyed saw African Americans as the most discriminated, checking off “a lot.” In 2009, the Pew Research Center found nearly one-in-four, or 23 percent, of Americans said Latinos are discriminated against “a lot” in society today.

• 57 percent of Latinos worry they, or someone they know, will be deported. The number was higher among the foreign born at 73 percent.

• One in 10 Latinos say they’ve been stopped by police or other authorities about their immigration status. This figure included native- and foreign-born Latinos.

• Thirty-two percent of Latinos in 2009 said they, or someone they know, had been discriminated in the last five years because of their racial or ethnic background. “When asked about specific instances of discrimination, 64 percent of Latino adults identified discrimination against Hispanics in schools as a major problem and 58 percent of Latino adults said the same about the workplace.”

• Forty-five percent of Latinos say they are confident that police treat them fairly.

• Eight of 10 Latinos say local police should not be involved in identifying undocumented immigrants: 81 percent said immigration should remain a federal concern, while 12 percent said local police should be involved. “Among the general public, opinion is spli. In 2007, 49 percent of non-Hispanics said enforcement should be left mainly to federal authorities, while 45 percent said local police should take an active role.”

• 76 percent of Latinos disapprove of workplace raids, 73 percent disapproved of the criminal prosecution of undocumented immigrants, 70 percent disapproved of the criminal prosecution of employers, and 53 percent disapproved of employees database checks to identify the eligibility of potential employees.

• Arizona is home to 2 million U.S. Latinos, or 30 percent of its population. One-third are foreign-born. About 500,000 undocumented immigrants lived there in 2008 — 94 percent were Mexican. About 10 percent of its workforce is undocumented.